Meadows holds open house at Hendersonville office

Henderson County citizens and residents of nearby counties now have access to their “man in Washington” with the opening of Congressman Mark Meadows' district office in Hendersonville.

By Leigh KelleyTimes-News Staff Writer

Henderson County citizens and residents of nearby counties now have access to their “man in Washington” with the opening of Congressman Mark Meadows' district office in Hendersonville.Meadows spoke to local government officials, business people and well-wishers Tuesday afternoon during a ribbon cutting to christen his new office, located on the ground floor of the Henderson County Courthouse.“We're excited to be here in Henderson County,” he said. “Both the county manager and the county commissioners have been extremely gracious in making this space available for us. We're excited about it.”The congressman also has offices in Waynesville, Lenoir and Spruce Pine, but the Hendersonville location will serve as the district office, said Deborah Potter with constituent services. “We are trying to open offices in each of the 17 counties that are in his district,” she said. “We've been open here since Jan. 3 and we've gotten calls from all over the place.”Issues that constituents have contacted Meadows' office about range from immigration to Social Security, Potter said. The current hot-button topic of gun control has also generated “a lot” of phone calls, she added.The congressman's chief of staff, Kenny West, said this marked the first time that a congressman has had a district office in Hendersonville. Meadows chose Hendersonville as a result of the support he has received from citizens in the area, West added. The local access is paying off in terms of his ability to help people in the community, Meadows said. The Hendersonville office recently assisted a woman who was having trouble getting her Social Security disability, he explained.“We were able to cut through the red tape to help her,” Meadows said. “Having an office here is definitely helping with the outreach in the community. When people in your community hurt and you are part of the community, you want to help.”County Manager Steve Wyatt said he was pleased that Meadows chose to locate his district office in Hendersonville.“It's very important for the citizens of Henderson County to have access to their congressman because he works for them, just like I do,” Wyatt said.The office has a staff of 10 people and will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The address is 200 N. Grove St., Suite 90, Henderson County Courthouse, Hendersonville, NC 28792. The phone number is 828-693-5660.Reach Kelley at 828-694-7871 or leigh.kelley@blueridgenow.com.